ATHENS (MNI) – Greece’s Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou,
addressing Tuesday’s frenzy in financial markets, said late today that
the Greek government has not made any attempt to change the terms of the
recently agreed EMU aid plan for his country.

Markets earlier today pushed spreads on Greek bonds sharply higher,
partly in reaction to a story by Market News International that said
Greece wanted to amend the aid deal in order to bypass the International
Monetary Fund and that Papaconstantinou might broach the subject later
this month at a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers in Madrid.

The MNI also said that Greece’s Prime Minister George Papandreou
intended to inform European Council President Herman Van Rompuy of
Greece’s desire to revisit the terms of the aid plan.

An unofficial translation of Papaconstantinou’s statement, issued
by the Greek Finance Ministry this afternoon, is below:

“Responding to questions by journalists regarding actions taken by
Greece to change the recent EU summit aid mechanism, the Greek Finance
Minister clarified that there has not been any action on behalf of our
country to change the terms of the recent EU Summit agreement. The
agreement is important for Europe and for Greece because it sets the
framework under which a country will get support, under specific
conditions, from its EU partners.

However, as we have repeatedly said, Greece has not asked for
activation of the aid mechanism. The fiscal course of our country
depends on the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, and the
Greek government continues to implement this pact without any diversion.
The budget is being executed normally and within the targets it has set,
and has in the pipeline structural changes in the taxation system, the
execution of the budget, the insurance/pension system, state
operations…These changes will ensure the reduction of the public debt,
will control its course, and will revive the Greek economy.”

–Paris newsroom, +331-42-71-55-40; paris@marketnews.com

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